Thanks
by Tomo Potter
Summary: Artemis realises how much he has to thank Holly for. AFHS, Time Paradox spoilers. Oneshot...?


A/N: HOLY FUCK it's been a long time since I wrote any AF fics! TBH, I got a bit bored with the fandom. Time Paradox brought back everything I love about AF though. Times a billion. IT MADE MY TOES SQUIRM WITH FANGIRLISH GLEE THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH.

I guarantee you, I will be fanarting a few moments in this book. My lack of drawing skills are just IRRELEVANT! XD You can expect (hopefully) some Time Paradox fic from me as well, I'm officially back into AF.

P.S: I will laugh my arse off if this is the way the next AF book begins.

Warning: Kissing. Yay! Also Time Paradox spoilers, obviously. TURN BACK NOW IF YOU STILL HAVEN'T READ ARTEMIS FOWL AND THE TIME PARADOX!

Disclaimer: Eoin Colfer I love you for Time Paradox. You totally made up for Minerva. xox

(But if she resurfaces in book seven, I may have to get out my murderin' axe.)

**NaMeZoR**

"So." Angeline said slowly, weighing the word in her mouth before she released it to the world. "That is what happened?"

"Yes." Artemis said, running a hand through his hair. He was sitting in the chair beside his mother's bed, just finished relating his story of what had befallen him up to this point.

"This Holly. Is she your girlfriend?"

"What? No." Artemis sighed. He had conveniently left out the part about them kissing. That was private. And it would never happen again. "We're just friends. Besides, she's an elf... mum." The word still felt unfamiliar in Artemis' mouth. "Not to mention the age difference."

Angeline nodded. "We have so much to thank her for, all of us. Without Holly..." She drifted into thought, clearly mulling over everything she had been told.

"Yeah... Yes, we do." Artemis said softly, thinking himself. It was true. Without Holly, Artemis the first would be dead in Russia somewhere. Without Holly, Angeline would still be depressed and delusional. Without Holly, Artemis would still be the horrible person he had once been. Without Holly...

_'Without Holly, I am nothing.'_ Artemis realised. He owed her the world, for everything she had done for him.

"I would like very much to meet her." Angeline smiled.

Artemis nodded his agreement. "Maybe... next time she can get surface clearance."

Angeline smiled lovingly at her son. "I am so proud of you, Artemis. So very proud. You've done some horrible things, but all the good you've done makes up for it. You're everything a mother could hope for." She caressed his cheek, smiling.

Artemis touched her hand tenderly, unable to help his smile mirroring her own. "Thank you, mum."

000

"Hi, Artemis." Holly smiled over the communicator. From what Artemis could see she was off duty, her short auburn hair wet, dressed in a casual tank top. "How's your mother doing?"

"Perfectly." Artemis smiled. "Hopefully she will be on her feet by tomorrow. There is bad news however, I'm afraid."

"Oh please, don't say bad news. Every time you say that, I get a chill."

Artemis chuckled. "It's not life threatening bad news, you can relax. She remembered though... remembered everything."

"Oh." Holly said, shock clear on her face. "What did you do?"

"I told her everything. She has agreed to keep it secret, even from ...dad, and the twins."

"How did she take it?" Holly asked, the wall behind her moving as she sat down on a sofa, reaching for a mug of a steaming, pale grey drink.

"Well, actually. She... she said she was proud of me. And she wants to thank you for everything. In person, if it's possible sometime."

Holly looked surprised, the mug vanishing from sight again, presumably having been placed on a coffee table. She made a soft noise, apparently lost for words.

"And Holly... I don't think I've ever really thanked you either. You've done so much for us. Without you, I wouldn't have anything."

"It's no problem Artemis, really. What kind of person would I be if I just let you struggle at it alone?" She half-smirked. "I've got a few days off at the moment, I'll see if I can get Trouble or Foaly to pull some strings for me, get me a surface pass. Gotta go now, I can smell my dinner burning."

"See you soon." Artemis smiled.

"You too." Holly smiled back, a hint of something Artemis couldn't place in her eyes.

The transmission ended.

000

"Boo." Came a voice from behind Artemis and he jumped, Professor Primate V2 flying from his hand. Someone invisible picked it up, turning the toy over in their hand. "Interesting experiment, Mud Boy. I think you may be slipping." Artemis could hear the grin in Holly's voice.

"It's a toy for Miles. Opal Koboi broke the last one." Artemis smiled, taking him back.

Holly laughed, shimmering into sight and hugging Artemis. "It's good to see you."

"You too." Artemis bent down to return the hug.

"God, I won't be able to do that for long." Holly laughed, releasing Artemis. "How are things?"

"Great. Absolutely great." Artemis beamed. "Dad and the twins are out today, having father-sons time at the park."

"Ohh, is the poor oldest son being neglected?" Holly pouted.

"I needed a break, Beckett and I spent all morning finger painting. He seemed far more interested in painting me than the paper however." Artemis grinned.

Holly laughed. "I can see, there's still a smudge of red under your chin."

"Really? Damn, I thought I had it all."

"It's not much, just the one little bit." She assured him. "How's your mother doing?"

"Much better. She's on the balcony in her room at the moment, reading. She seems absolutely fine again."

"That's great, Artemis." She smiled, patting his arm. "Does she... uh... still want to see me?"

"Definitely." Artemis smiled. "Come on, we can go see her now."

000

Angeline Fowl had in fact recovered totally from her faux illness, although she was still slightly thinner than was entirely healthy. Sitting in a soft chair, book in hand, bathed in sunlight, Angeline Fowl looked perfectly contented. She smiled when she saw Artemis at the door, putting down the book at the sight of her son.

"Arty," she smiled. "Come in. Did you have any reason for coming to see me?"

"Yes, actually mum." Artemis smiled back. I have someone I would like you to meet." He stepped out of the doorway, revealing Holly who had been standing behind him. "Mum, this is Captain Holly Short."

"Hi." Holly smiled awkwardly, waving.

"So it's all true." Angeline breathed. Then she beamed. "Holly. It is good to finally meet you. You've done so much for us."

"It's no problem." Holly smiled, walking over to Angeline. "It's nice to actually meet you too."

As soon as Holly was close enough, Angeline pounced her, engulfing the tiny fairy in a hug. Holly managed to reach her arms most of the way around Angeline, before the hug ended.

"I mean it. Thank you so much. You've saved Artemis - both of them, you've saved me, you've saved Butler and Juliet. All of us owe you so much." She smiled warmly, touching Holly's cheek.

"It was nothing." Holly smiled embarrassedly.

Angeline beamed. "Oh, but it was. Any time you need anything at all, don't hesitate to contact us. We owe you the world."

000

Back inside, Holly and Artemis sat down on the sofa in what had used to be a very formal living room, but was now scattered with toys and paints and the occasional beaker.

"Miles and Beckett?" Holly asked, gesturing to the mess. Artemis nodded.

"It barely takes them seconds to fill a room with mess. I've never seen anything like it."

Holly laughed. "Toddlers can be a handful."

Artemis glanced at Holly, suddenly realising all over again just how much older than him she was. After their trip back in time, the lines had blurred in his head. But this Holly was in her eighties, which seemed to be about the equivalent of her twenties, and had a whole life of her own. He seemed to forget that.

"Do you have kids?" He asked without really thinking, curious all of a sudden.

"What?" Holly yelped. "No, no, Frond no. I have no time, with work and everything. Besides, I'm only eighty four. Centuries ahead of me yet." She smiled. "Why the sudden interest?"

Artemis shrugged. "I just realised I don't actually know much about you."

Holly blushed. "There's not much to know. I work, I sleep, I work, I sleep, I occasionally have a day off, and even then I don't do much. The life of the workaholic."

Artemis laughed. "So... you don't... date, or anything?"

Holly sighed, rubbing her face. "Artemis, we've been through this. We're not going there again. It was a one-time thing."

"I know. I was just asking." He blushed.

"Well... no, I don't. Most of the people I meet are criminals. Not like I can say 'You're under arrest for theft. Oh by the way, wanna go to dinner this Friday?' Dating doesn't mix well with my kind of work."

"I see." Artemis nodded. There was an uncomfortable silence.

"What about you? You and the Paradizo girl would be about the same age now..."

Artemis shook his head. "She's too much like I was before I met you. Besides, we don't even talk much nowadays. Just the occasional virtual chess match."

Holly nodded, the silence from before returning with friends.

"I... I had better get going. I don't have clearance for long, I said I was performing the Ritual."

"And they'll believe you if you come back in the middle of the day?" Artemis raised an eyebrow.

Holly laughed. "Maybe not. Guess I'll stick around then. What do you do all day?"

Artemis shrugged. "Play with the twins, work in my lab, or ride the horses, mostly."

"Horseriding?" Holly gasped in mock surprise. "Don't tell me The Great Artemis Fowl has actually shown an interest in sports?"

"Only horseriding." Artemis shrugged. "It's peaceful. Butler and I have been doing some work with weights though, I'm getting tired of not being able to keep up."

"Speaking of Butler, how's he doing?"

"Not too badly, though I say that loosely. There's not much he can do easily anymore." Artemis's eyes were downcast. "He's taking it slow, trying to build his strength up again, but he's getting old."

Holly touched Artemis' arm gently. "Where is he now?"

"I'm not sure, probably in the gym meditating. He does that a lot now."

Holly nodded. "I might go see him later."

"He'd like to see you." Artemis nodded.

There was more silence, and then Holly jumped up. "Right, enough sitting around feeling awkward and sorry for ourselves and everyone else. How about you introduce me to these horses of yours?"

Artemis stood up too, smiling. "That sounds fun."

000

"And this is Windstorm." Artemis concluded, leading Holly to the last full stable, which housed a proud black and white stallion.

"He's beautiful!" Holly smiled, reaching up to stroke the horse's downward stretched nose. "I must admit, I was half expecting them to be named after the periodic table of elements or something."

Artemis laughed. "Mum and dad foresaw that possibility too, mum was the one who named them all. She goes riding more often than I do, usually with dad."

Holly smiled. "I'm glad they're doing so well."

"Yeah." Artemis smiled back. And it really is all thanks to you."

Holly blushed. "My quota of being thanked for things is full for the day, Artemis."

"I mean it though, without you I wouldn't have any of the people I care about. I owe you so much."

"No, you don't." Holly smiled softly. There was an intense, breathless moment, and then Holly reached right up, grabbing the front of Artemis' shirt and pulling him down to kiss her.

Artemis was stunned, almost too surprised to remember to return the kiss. He wasn't exactly sure what to do - he had only been kissed once before, and he had been unconscious for most of it. Holly seemed quite confident in taking the lead however, using her small tongue to part Artemis' lips, tiny hands tangling in his hair. Artemis simply followed her lead, placing his hands gently on her waist and following her mouth with his own.

After what felt like forever, but was probably only a minute, Holly pulled back, dark skin tinged bright red.

"Um..." She said awkwardly, fingering her belt. Artemis recognised the gesture - had Holly been carrying a gun, she would have been idly stroking it right now, for comfort.

"That was..." Artemis trailed off, not sure what he could say.

"Yeah." Holly agreed, smiling uncomfortably. An awkward silence passed, broken by Holly sighing and running a hand through her short hair.

"Look. This can't keep happening. It's obvious enough that I like you and you like me, no point dancing around that, but this can't happen. I'm a fairy. You're a human. You're fifteen, I'm eighty four. And you're... difficult to trust."

Artemis nodded, understanding, although he didn't want to. "I understand. Although, if it makes any difference, I felt terrible about doing that to you. No matter what happens now, I promise never to do anything like it again. If I have any crazy schemes, you'll be the first to know."

Holly was unable to help smiling. "I thought your schemes were brilliant, not crazy. Have I crushed your ego that much?"

"Brilliant, of course." Artemis smiled back, a hint of sadness to it. "But utterly insane too, there's no doubt."

"I... I had better go." Holly said awkwardly. It was good to see you, Arty."

_Arty._

Holly pulled Artemis down again, this time to kiss him gently on the cheek, and then she slowly faded to invisibility, the stable door opening and closing a few seconds later, leaving Artemis feeling desperately alone.

A/N: I might continue this. Probably not. It depends on if I can think of a workable plot for the next chapter. It's not gonna be something really long like WALHB though, it's been so long since I wrote any AF fic at all that I don't know how well I would do. Whatever happens, thanks for reading :)


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